The First of Many
by cheekybby
Summary: AU: Quinn is in prison and Puck has to take their daughter to see her which breaks all their hearts. Written for an angst meme. Mentions of Puckleberry and various glee members.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing, glee does not belong to me and if it did it would be allot different lol. **

**This was for an angst meme on lj where baby Drizzle/Beth goes to see a parent in prison. I did my best. **

**I have various fics on the go right now and probably have enough prompt tables to be getting on with without messing around in memes but there you go. I would love to hear what any readers think. **

The huge iron gates scare her and she holds on to her daddy's hand tighter. She hears him sigh and gets pulled a little closer to him as they are let in a smaller gate off to the side.

"Don't worry Beth. It is ok."

It isn't ok though. Beth knows that. Her mommy is in this huge place called _prison_ and her daddy tells her that the man who said mommy had to come here is the only one allowed to let her come home. Beth is only four. She doesn't understand.

She does understand that ever since mommy got taken away by the police officers she has had to stay with daddy who lives with that other woman that Beth doesn't like in Columbus. She is called Rachel and she is kind of nice and tries to make cookies with Beth and play but she isn't mommy so Beth doesn't like her. She doesn't like Columbus either cause its _big_ and she doesn't like that she had to move to a new kindergarten and make new friends.

Beth just wants her mom to come home and play and brush her hair every morning. She has asked Puck why her mom can't come home and he says it is because mommy did something bad and when you do bad things you have to take responsibility for them. But responsibility is a big word that Beth doesn't understand so it just makes her more upset.

There are guards that smile at her but make her stand in a big white room and they touch her daddy and feel at his clothes. Puck has to let go of her hand and tells her to stand at the side but she is still scared and hugs her pink bunny Uncle Kurt got her to her chest.

"It's ok baby girl, daddy will only be a minute." Puck murmurs irritated as the guard double checks him.

Beth nods and looks at all the other people in the room. They don't all look nice and they scare her even more than the big gates. Her bottom lip wibbles but she promised her daddy she wouldn't cry and she is a Puckerman so she will hold it together like her daddy said. One of the guards moves towards her and suddenly Puck is between them and he is angry. She doesn't like when her daddy gets angry.

"Not my little girl man! She doesn't have anything on her just like I don't! This is bad enough already!"

The guard stands up and it makes him taller so Beth backs up until she is pressed against the wall.

"With all due respect, Miss Fabrey was convicted of dealing class B substances; we have to check she isn't trying to get anything in. It's standard procedure."

They argue but Puck knows he isn't going to win and Beth desperately wants to see Quinn so he relents and reassures Beth that the man won't hurt her and is just checking she doesn't have anything she shouldn't. The guard is allot gentler with kids than adults but Puck still hovers over his shoulder and double checks. If he hurts Beth nothing will stop him getting a class A beat down. But he would really like to not have to do that because Beth has already lost one parent. All to Quinn's stupidity.

Puck knew they had been struggling and he worked every hour god sent to get them more money, even Rachel gave up chunks of her wages from the theatre parts she got in Columbus to try help out and there was no need for her to do that. Rachel was his girl but she didn't owe Beth anything yet she still gave up things she wanted to make sure Beth got what she needed. Quinn should have come to him before yet she didn't and the only one suffering was their baby girl.

The guard released her and Puck took her small hand in his and took her to where they were let into the hall to meet the prisoners. They were instructed to pick a table and Puck led Beth to the corner where she was sheltered from seeing too much of prison life, where she could maybe pretend they were just sitting and Quinn wasn't banged up.

Beth fidgeted with her bunny as she waited and Noah scanned the lines of oncoming inmates for Quinn, sighing when he noticed the blond hair, limp and lifeless yet somehow still Quinn Fabrey.

"Mommy!"

Beth screamed as she all but flew out of her seat and Puck had to grab her hand to hold her back as a guard startled by the door.

"You need to wait till mommy gets here baby girl or the man will take her away again."

She nodded at him with wide brown eyes and waited patiently until a smiling Quinn reached her before jumping into her arms. Puck merely nodded at her as she sat down with the girl in her lap.

"Thank you for coming, for bringing her." Quinn stated.

Puck just looked at Beth, beaming smile as she drank in her mother for the first time in weeks.

"I didn't do it for you."

"Right."

"Mommy, when are you allowed to come home?"

She strained her neck looking up at Quinn, all wide eyed again and desperate.

"I want to play!"

"I...I don't know baby. Hopefully soon."

Beth nodded.

"We need you to come home so everyone will be happy again. Everyone is sad now. I don't like Rachel because she is loud and uses weird words but she works all the time at the plays and a shop and doesn't sing anymore and daddy is always worried and uncle Finn took everything out our apartment and put it in his mom's basement. He even stopped calling me _Drizzle_. See everyone is sad without you mommy, come home!"

Quinn's eyes filled with tears and she gasped, her breaths ragged as she swayed slightly in her seat. She petted Beth's head and the little girl was content to give up on her questions and just burrow into her neck and hold her.

"I didn't...I didn't mean for all this to happen...I just...we couldn't pay the rent and I couldn't buy food and she needed new clothes and...I...I..."

"You should have come to me!" Puck stated harshly, glancing at Beth before leaning over the table.

"I'm her father, I would have found a way to get you more money! Dammit who do you think is taking care of her now? Who do you think is working every hour there is to feed her now? It's me! It's Rachel! It's Tina getting after kindergarten on Mondays to take her while Rachel does her classes at school and I work. She feeds her dinner that night so we don't have to. Finn still takes her on a Friday and Santana and Kurt take her when they can, get her a new jacket if they can, do something to help us _if they can_. They would have been there if you just asked Quinn!"

The tears slide down her cheeks freely and she pulls Beth closer.

"I know. I've learned from my mistake. Thank them?"

"Every day for everything they do." Puck grit out.

Quinn nodded and reached for Beth's rabbit.

"Why don't you tell me what you have been learning at kindergarten baby girl?"

Beth nodded, snatching the rabbit from her mom's hands and looking around. The hall was weird with all its tables and chairs and the people looked rough and sad all over the place. She didn't like the guards that were everywhere, the cameras watching her or the horrible black bars over the window.

She wanted to stay with her mommy and she wanted to go home with her daddy. Even if it meant time with _Rachel_.

"They want us to try writing soon. Like what you do in school."

"Wow that is amazing. I'm sure you will do great!"

"Will you help me with it?"

Quinn felt her throat and chest constrict and when she looked at Puck he couldn't look at her. This was killing them both. Two years at least with good behaviour and a permanent record. A permanent stain on her daughter's childhood. She was the Lima loser now. The Lima dealer.

"You're so fast and good I don't think I'll be home in time baby girl but maybe Ra-Rachel could help you? She...she writes very well."

She stumbled over the name, stumbled over the idea that another woman was going to raise her daughter. And be better at it she was sure. She wanted to be angry, desperately wanted to be angry but instead could only be ashamed that she never saw was there to help her and grateful that someone could be there for her daughter when she couldn't.

Before they knew it the bell was going and it was time to go. Quinn was openly crying and Beth started to whine that she didn't want to go and it wasn't fair and her daddy was mean for taking her home. Quinn just cried harder and hugged her tight, placing kisses all over her face and promising she would see her soon and asking her to paint her pictures.

Puck had to carry her out, now bawling for Quinn as she reached for her over his shoulder, the pink bunny in his left hand as he too tried not to cry. It was never supposed to be like this.

"Daddy I want mommy! I want my mommy! Let her come home!"

"I can't baby girl, mommy will be home soon! She loves you and I will bring you back soon okay? Come on baby stop crying. Mama won't want to see you cry."

The further they got from Quinn, the less Beth cried and she was only sniffling by the time they reached the gates again. She was like a dead weight in his arms, just holding on and trying to stop the tears.

This killed him. It absolutely killed him and it was only the first visit. He had two more years of this and he wasn't sure he could handle it. Not sure at all.

**Reviews are love. Concrit Welcome**


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